BOSTON – (Feb. 12, 2014) The CardioVascular Center at Tufts Medical Center and the Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, announced today the opening of the Chanin T. Mast Center for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), which will offer a new approach to the diagnosis and treatment of HCM. HCM is a genetic cardiac disease that causes abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood or relax and fill with blood, and increases the likelihood of a fatal rhythm problem. HCM afflicts roughly 1 in 500 Americans, and is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in children, teens and young adults.

World-renowned HCM specialist, Martin Maron, MD, of Tufts Medical Center, will oversee and serve as medical director for the Mast HCM Center. Dr. Maron is Director of the Tufts HCM Center, which in the 10 years of its existence has become one of the top referral centers in the world for such patients. In 2011, Maron was voted Clinician of the Year by members of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, and his research work has made a major impact on the evaluation and treatment of HCM patients. For HCM patients who need advanced procedures such as surgical or catheter-based myectomy, the team at Tufts, including Hassan Rastegar, MD and Carey Kimmelstiel, MD has enormous experience and outstanding outcomes, with a national referral base.

The only one of its kind in New Jersey, the Mast HCM Center will offer a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary center of excellence, providing world-class care to patients throughout the region. Mast HCM Center patients will receive access to specialists, counseling support, the latest treatments and therapies, as well as access to the experienced specialists at Tufts Medical Center in Boston for advanced care such as surgical operations, further expanding their access to world-class medical services. Maron will see patients at the new center twice a month.

“Here at Tufts Medical Center, we often talk about the ‘Distributed Academic Medical Center’ concept, whereby our highly experienced specialists see patients in their local community, working closely with the patients’ home physicians, and patients come to Tufts MC for highly specialized care,” says James E. Udelson, MD, Chief of the Division of Cardiology at Tufts. “This partnership with our colleagues at Morristown Medical Center takes that concept a step further, extending our unique expertise in HCM more regionally. Local patients can be seen close to home at the Mast Center, but can easily access the very unique experience of Drs. Rastegar and Kimmelstiel here at Tufts should they need advanced procedures.”

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About Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children

Tufts Medical Center is an exceptional, not-for-profit, 415-bed academic medical center that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and Floating Hospital for Children. Conveniently located in downtown Boston, the Medical Center is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Floating Hospital for Children is the full-service children's hospital of Tufts Medical Center and the principal pediatric teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. Tufts Medical Center is affiliated with the New England Quality Care Alliance, a network of more than 1,800 physicians throughout Eastern Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org.

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